commando

gangstarap: don't belittle private sector placements or those who opt for it. the private sector can be as challenging as the academic world. try it: your wrong analysis could send people, nations, bankrupt. 2 people graduating from duke placed in lehman brothers and brattle group. from their cv's they are Good, if not excellent, and could have placed in a good program as professors. but they chose the private sector for various reasons, maybe more money, maybe they want to see the real world( or they just don't want an academic career) true, the phd is primarily meant as preparation for academic teaching and research( or so they say). but due to their discipline, patience, drive, analytical skills, they make excellent researchers at I-banks and the private sector in general. in fact, quantitative phd's have some competitive advantage over master's in financial engineering job market. probably it's because they don't like to spend time and money to train people for some wall street types to make millions of them, that's why the schools say phd prepares students for academia, not because they consider private sector to be default or less glamorous positions. basically, people decide to go for the private sector because of their personal choices(they don't fancy academic career anymore, they like more money, or they want to see the real thing, they can take the long hours and tension and pressure, or something else) not because they are from terrible schools. grads from top schools also have some--but not definite--advantage over grads from lesser ranked schools. natural laws of uncertainty and randomness also dictate that someone from a lesser ranked school can beat a top-ranked school grad to it. as for the guy looking for schools specializing in private sector placement I will say that just look for the best program you can enter, and then do good research, if possible, something practical and applicable to the private sector, and worry about the placement later. Also, forget about that 'terrible schools' and 'defaults' rant.

i can only say something about your first Q: you don't have to come back for summer vacations. (I doubt any CO will ask you that, unless he/she is worried about the 7 or 8 children you are leaving behind for 4-6 years without any physical contact).You know it, the CO knows it.So no problem. And the entry visa you are given(say for 2 or 4 years) entitles you to enter and come out of the US without seeking a new visa within the time the visa is valid. So no need for renewals. as for the 2nd question, tell him/her it's none of his/her business.I'm only joking!!! Someone plz help our pal here.

I wanttostudy: i wish what you said is true always and everywhere. a day or 2 ago i read UCLA Anderson School of Management doctoral admissions guidelines/brochure and it says that they expect an average of B for undergrad and B+ for grad(if any). i think this is unfair, since it is much more likely that some extra undergrad credit was earned through 'sit-through-and-get-an-A' courses. I think deflating master's gpa to provide a leveling field inadvertently penalizes those who took the trouble to undergo extra training before applying for phd. (correct me if I got it wrong). But I think there must be some fair reason for the deflation. what about weighting to consider that master's are usually 2 years as against 4 undergrad, and taking care of the so-called irrelevant undrgrad courses and their level too.

what about GRE scores? do they matter too? As for looks I don't know how one can improve things except maybe some silky white shirt:hmm: ---I've seen people put on ties, but no coat as yet.:( Does an assistantship or other aid offer help matters in any way?

there's not doubt that finance phd is the one of the most difficult programs to get in if not the most. less than 800Q on the GRE and consider yourself automatically out of the top programs. it's also populated by physics/math/engineering BS/MS etc. but i don't think that should worry econ phd applicants because i think their admission rates has more to do with the relatively small number of finance phd programs available as compared to econ programs.

the math is not crazy. it's actually beautiful. if you can't get the math you need in undergrad then go for a math or stat master afterwards in the US or elsewhere(if possible) then later shoot for the econ phd. and as for the sort of grades I don't think the adcom/board will be impressed with mediocre grades. if you do it, then get good grades. if you know you will get bad grades then don't do it, and leave the adcoms to wonder if you could have scored A's had you done them.I dont think that will help you either. As for the spec courses squaresquare has said them all. (Won't hurt if you can add some topology to it though,i.e. if you have the time).

i read somewhere--can't remember--that usually master's gpa's are higher than normal so adcoms mentally deduct a 0.1 or 0.2 in order to get a fair gpa. Don't know if it's because master's programs are easier than undergrad or what

stupidolive: d'you think both parents being retired is a negative in the VO's eyes. I don't think it should be, but these people have their peculiar prejudices. A friend of mine was refused a visa for undergrad because he had full aid( grant, work-study + loan--about 2K/year) and the VO "was not sure how his peasant parents were going to pay for the loan after his 4 years of education". Strange things do happen.Hey! I forgot to congratulate you. Congrats!Hope the rest of us have such smooth sailing.

just take the toefl if you are not comfortable. the 800Q score is the decider.550V is normal even in the top programs. if your other creds are great then you have no worries. i dont really know how if you retook it and got 600V and say 780Q it will affect your apps, but I dont think it will be positive in the least.

why do you think they'll want to know what your siblings are doing? obvious, whether they are in profitable employment or whether they are waiting for you to start sending remittances